Appointed by our architecture firm client’s professional liability insurer as litigation defense counsel, we responded to a claim which alleged that heating and cooling deficiencies plague an education project which our client and its engineering subconsultants partially designed. The complex mechanical engineering issues include allegations that water source heat pumps are tripping because of allegedly low chilled water return temperatures and flow rates, and allegations related to supposed malfunctioning energy recovery wheels, insufficient chilled water flow and primary airflow, and allegedly undersized induction beam units. The owner contemplated various repairs, some involving unnecessary additions, such as a nearly 100-ton air-cooled chiller, heat exchanger, and storage tank – unwarranted betterment upgrades at the design professionals’ expense. We retained a leading international engineering firm to provide an independent evaluation and, as of this writing, stand ready to aggressively defend the unresolved claim on grounds including construction defects and, if warranted, assert contribution claims against others.
